Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens dive into what may be the most disastrously absurd sporting event in Olympic history: the 1904 men’s marathon in St. Louis, considered so dangerous that countries later petitioned to have the race banned altogether. Set against a backdrop of scorching heat, open roads, and purposeful dehydration, the event quickly devolved into a chaotic spectacle of confusion, collapse, and questionable science. From hallucinations and fieldside naps to runners hitching car rides and enduring on rat poison and brandy, this so-called race blurred the line between athleticism and a dark comedy of errors. (Brandy, dust, and delusion - what could possibly go wrong?)